Link to High Res Photos
“They killed me at Folk Alliance. That’s not a band. It’s another world.”
~~ Jonathan Byrd
“Petunia and the Vipers are amazing – Petunia yodels upside down”
~~ Baby Gramps
“Petunia and the mother****ing Vipers. One of the best bands in the world today, of any kind.”
— Phil Alvin, The Blasters.
“Last night I saw one of the best bands I’ve ever seen in close to 50 years of attending gigs. It was the incredible Petunia and the Vipers at the Chichester Inn, Chichester. A small but perfectly formed crowd was treated to some incredible musicianship and a totally unique vocalist who can’t really be compared to anyone else. If you get the chance to see this amazing band take it.”
— Mike Morrison (American Roots UK)
“Extraordinary – a left field genius – one of the best releases of the year”
— Paul Kerr (AmericanaUK)
“…Hybrid musical style…edge of punk appreciation…this is an amazing album…a whole range of different styles”
“Incredibly entertaining”
“Try and catch the band live”
— Bob Harris – BBC
“A fantastic gig by a great band – up there with the best”
— Gerry Lawless, Clonmel World Music, Ireland
“Remarkable”
— Bristol Evening Post
*****/5 – http://www.americanrootsuk.com/petunia-and-the-vipers.html
The review begins: “At times the broad diversity of this extraordinary album is quite breathtaking.”
“Whilst I’m always saying that there is very little true originality in any music, there are exceptions and this album is most definitely one of them. There are certainly echoes of other artists but when you take the vocals, varied tempos, instrumentation and perhaps even more importantly, the almost otherworldly atmosphere, into account there is not really anyone else that stands comparison.”
And concludes: “It would be so easy to get even more carried away and write about every song but no writer could ever really describe this album adequately. You really have to buy it for yourself and play it over and over again. I can’t even, hand on heart, say that I love every song (although I do most of them) but the album is worth its five star rating simply because of its diversity and originality that most would kill to possess! I’ve had it on constant rotation for a month or so and am still finding previously unheard nuances in this extraordinary recording. If only we could get him to England for some live shows, what nights they would be!”
UPDATE ~ 2012 Album of The Year – http://www.americanrootsuk.com/2012-albums-of-the-year.html
…this is a band to watch and more importantly listen to with this album, in concert and in the next place where this quirky brilliant bunch shine their talent upon.
The cover of the album is very much like it’s contents, memorable and intriguing
A glorious album, which it has been my pleasure to be meet and shake hands with.
~~ Seamus Doran showbiz.euvue.co.uk
..so moving, so talented, so transforming.
~~ Exene Cervenka
Remember when Quentin Tarantino announced last year that he’s working on a spaghetti western? Well, if Mr. Tarantino reads this, I highly suggest he give Petunia and the Vipers’ self-titled release a listen because it’s a collection of songs so cinematic, so Americana and so instantly classic that it’s made just for him. And you too! The album is obviously the work of a group of well-seasoned musicians. Guitarist Stephen Nickleva has been playing in a variety of bands for years and lap steel guitarist Jimmy Roy has been called by rockabilly great Ray Condo “a scholar of hillbilly sound.” The album weaves comfortably through a variety of genres. From the gorgeous, yodel-infused “The Cricket Song” to the frenetic rockabilly of “Maybe Baby Amy” to Spanish ballads “Bright Light” and “CHE (Guevara’s Diary)” to the WWII-era swing of “Yes Baby Yes,” this release never ceases to delight. Let Petunia and the Vipers take you on a journey through American history. You won’t regret it.
— By Randi Beers – Exclaim Magazine
“Imagine that David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby. A hillbilly baby that yodeled. That’s Petunia. Now imagine he’s backed by a band whose talents match his own. That would be the Vipers. Imagine that man and that band can step onstage and hold a crowd in thrall song after song, until the last note fades away, and that would be Petunia and the Vipers”
— Cascadia Weekly, Bellingham, WA
‘Have you ever listened to an artist who is so captivating, so utterly authentic, that they send shivers down your spine and make you dizzy with wonder? Well, meet Petunia, who, along with his band The Vipers, is single-handedly reintroducing the world to a long-lost, old-time style of music incorporating flavours of roots, rockabilly, swing, and train car ramblin’ hillbilly folk.’
‘Together, Petunia and The Vipers are not to be taken lightly. At times, swooning and crooning and others gnashing and smashing, the talent and precision with which they exhibit their musicianship is quickly becoming legendary in its own right.’
‘..complete authenticity.’
“Sometimes Vancouverite, fulltime yodellin’ cowboy Petunia often presents, live and on past CDs, as offering a stripped-down take on roots music, dark and lonely as a telephone pole on a stretch of highway with no streetlights, with the obvious musical references being to Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. His new LP – his first full-length to come out on vinyl (with bonus tracks on the CD) – blows away these preconceptions and vastly expands his domain, with energetic rockabilly rave-ups (“Maybe Baby Amy,” replete with Jerry Lee Lewis yelps) and lush, complex arrangements (with lapsteel guitar, horns, kazoo, piano, horns, and deft drumwork by Marc L’Esperance). There’s also a couple of absolutely fantastic bits of songwriting in evidence – like “Mercy,” which yokes a swingin’, revival-tent atmosphere to half-growled lyrics about guilt, sin, redemption, and gambling, which Petunia delivers with a vocal fire and fury previously unheard on his solo CDs. Impressive stuff – this may well be the Vancouver roots music release of the year.
— Review of the new LP – The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, BC
“…together, they are one of the most incredible, enjoyable and exciting bands that I have EVER had on my stage. His first time was in April and he played in the middle of the week without much advance, but everyone who was in that room knew they were seeing a very special show. Petunia and the Vipers are irresistible, contagious, astounding and totally entertaining. His combination of rock-a-billy, swing, honky-tonk and yodeling will keep the audience clapping and hollering for more.”
— The Journal, Humboldt County, California
“(Petunia) also yodels, blows trumpet, plinks piano, strums guitar and boasts an old-time hillbilly croon that would put a smile on any cousin’s face in Appalachia. It’s all there on the new Petunia & The Vipers debut released last month, which was recorded at the Sound Factory in Hollywood by triple Grammy Award-winning engineer Ryan Freeland and mixed in Vancouver by Marc L’Esperance.
“Backed by his brilliant band the Vipers – featuring former Ray Condo’s Ricochets members Jimmy Roy (lapsteel guitar), Stephen Nikleva (guitar) and Sam Shoichet (upright bass), with L’Esperance on drums – the disc features 10 originals and covers such as a straight-on reading of Hoagy Carmichael’s seminal “Stardust.”…
…”Among the fans of the band’s sound is Phil Alvin. The former frontman of the Blasters has shared tours with the group and there are a few great videos on YouTube of them all playing live at shows. Having already topped the Canadian college/community/co-op radio charts in 2007 with his album Petunia and the Loons, he’s ready to do it again with the new album.”
…”It may not always be an easy road he’s rolling down, but with the Vipers’ sharp bite and the leader’s sweet and unique singing, Petunia’s career is blossoming.”
— The Province, Vancouver, BC
“Often capturing the sounds of the 1930s through to post World War II, Petunia and The Vipers bring us music that is more than just nostalgia in today’s interesting times. However, they are not hemmed in by this era. Traces from 1920s jazz (a sentimental-without-irony cover of Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust), crooning cabaret with a Latin American twist and an attitude giving a nod to the burgeoning punkabilly of the 1980s (The Ballad of Handsome Ned – pioneer of Toronto’s Queen Street scene) are also wrapped up in this package that David Lynch might deliver to your screen.”
…”On Monday, April 4 Petunia & the Vipers will play at the Riverwood Inn on the Avenue of the Giants in Phillipsville. This band is so exciting, so talented, so unusual and so much fun.”
…”Petunia & the Vipers are so special that we get them whenever we can.”
“This band played with Ray Condo prior to his untimely passing. Ray was a hard act to follow but then they ran into Petunia and Petunia & the Vipers were born. Jimmy Roy on slide is amazing. He is one of the most talented musicians out there today. Petunia is from the past somewhere, reincarnated from another era. When this band starts playing, I see people move to the edge of their seats, feet start to tap and then pound as he brings everyone under his Honky Tonk spell.”
— The Redwood Times, Northern California
“It’s been awhile since a show has blown my face back/pants off/brains out, but after seeing Petunia & The Vipers‘ LP Release show last night at the Ukrainian Orthodox Hall in Vancouver I would say there’s finally some new music I can holler a hearty “Holy mother of yes!” about.”
“Chances are you’ve caught Petunia swingin’ & yodelin’ solo cowboy style sometime during the past 10 years, but banded up with The Vipers has created something so smokin’ that tidy genres don’t do it justice (like “rockabilly & western swing” or “Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction”). The fact is I would bring both my Grandfather and hard-to-please hipster sister to a Petunia & The Vipers show and I don’t know any other band that could bring out old folks & young folks to boogie down together on a community hall dance floor in the middle of a city on a Saturday night”
— Jodie Ponto Photography, Vancouver, BC
HI-RES PHOTOS FOR PRESS and WEB USE:
Click the thumbnail to download the Zip archive.
